


The Commander is Deployed

by BoxOfHammers



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 19:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17966756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoxOfHammers/pseuds/BoxOfHammers
Summary: I made this up because I like both of these characters and I felt like writing something. If you are super-freaky about The West Wing canon this will probably be something to avoid.It's set just after Kate Harper shows up.There may be more but for now they seem done with me.





	The Commander is Deployed

“Good Lord, you’re James Bond,” C.J. Cregg told her, entering her office without knocking.  
“Come on in Ms Cregg,” Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper said, watching C.J. make herself comfortable in a visitor’s chair, “and take a seat by all means. How so?”  
The Press Secretary used her long fingers to check off her reasoning. “Commander in the Navy, spy, secretary called Moneypenny ...”  
“That isn’t his name,” Kate admonished lightly, finding herself charmed. “And I wasn’t a spy.”  
“I may have made that last one up,” C.J. conceded. She took a crumpled document from a pocket her skirt and hoiked her glasses to her nose from where a chain constrained them at her chest. In a practiced gesture she checked over the top of them for Kate Harper’s attention before she began to read. “I quote,” she began unnecessarily, “Commander Harper has served overseas,” she emphasised the last two words and paused to peer over he glasses at Kate again, “has served overseas for the Central Intelligence Agency.”  
“I’ve more often served over seas for the Navy,” Kate rebutted.  
“Was that a sailor pun?”  
“Don’t make me spell it out for you.”  
“James Bond.”  
Kate rolled her eyes. “Ms Cregg ..”  
“It’s C.J.,” C.J. offered.  
Kate smiled. “C.J., you know you can’t tell the press corps I’m James Bond right?”  
“Oh sure,” the lanky Ohioan waved off such a silly notion, the gesture knocking a pile of neatly stacked folders on Kate’s desk askew. She saw Kate twitch. “Do you need to straighten that?”  
Kate laughed. “No. I can wait until you leave.”  
“So how do you like your martinis?”  
“I don’t like them.”  
“Do you drive a convertible?”  
“Don’t have a car.”  
“Are you a good gambler?”  
“Yes.”  
“OK. Back on track. How are you with the ladies?”  
“More than adequate.”  
“Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to knock a couple off for the car and the cocktail and call you double-o-4.”  
“No.”  
C.J. observed her for a moment then rose from the chair, moving towards the door. When she turned Kate was watching her, head tilted expectantly. “OK,” she said turning the page to show Kate an almost entirely redacted page.  
“OK,” Kate acknowledged returning to her work as C.J. finally exited. She closed the file in front of her and placed it to her right. She stood and tidied the stack C.J. had bumped then took the topmost one. “Next,” she sighed.

“You remind me of Nancy sometimes,” C.J. responded to Kate’s knock at her open office door.  
“Sinatra?”  
“McNally.”  
“It’s the hair,” Kate deadpanned.  
C.J.’s laugh pealed out. “Sit,” she said when she could speak again. Kate sat and waited quietly to be told the reason for the summons. “A few years ago I met with some folks from the Organisation of Cartagrophers for Social Equality,” C.J. began.  
“Oh. That reminds me I have to renew my membership.”  
“You’re kidding?”  
“Why would I?”  
“OK. So my point is..”  
“Who was it you met?”  
“Uh... Fallow, Sails, and Huke.”  
“Wow! They’re the rock stars. How was that?”  
“They blew my mind.”  
“Right? We’re flying around the globe on the regular and our maps are from a projection from the 1500s,” Kate returned excitedly.  
“They blew my mind,” C.J. ploughed on, “and here’s my point, much the same way that you do when you talk about foreign conflicts.”  
“In what sense?”  
“In the sense that, try as I might, I cannot comprehend what you are saying.”  
“When?”  
“Ever.”  
“But you brief the press on it.”  
“Yes.”  
“So you must know what you’re saying.”  
“No.”  
“How can you...?”  
“Have you ever had a dog?”  
“Sure.”  
“Really? What kind?”  
“Mutt. His name was Tom.”  
“Huh. Look at me getting info from the spy!”  
“None of that’s true. Why are we talking about dogs?”  
“I was going somewhere with it but I ... OK let’s try this: a press briefing is like dancing with a bear. You stop when the bear wants to.”  
“So, when you say ‘that’s a lid’? Doesn’t that mean you’re done with them?”  
“No that means I sense they’re waiting for me to say ‘that’s a lid’ so they can start their weekend. What I mean is they keep asking questions and with your stuff I run out of knowing really fast.”  
“What did you do when it was Dr McNally’s ‘stuff’?”  
“We’d argue mostly.”  
“You and the press?”  
“Me and Nancy.”  
“If that helps, I’m happy to go at it.”  
“I was thinking maybe you and I could start new with some notes.”  
“OK. You need anything right now?”  
“Can you give me something on the -stans?”  
“The Stans? I don’t...” Kate asked frowning.  
“You know Kazakh-, Uzbeki-, Turkmeni-. The -stans.”  
Kate dropped her head into her hands, muttering.  
“Did you just say ‘Oi!’?” C.J. asked.  
“Look you know about the breakup of the Soviet Union right? Christmas Day 1991?”  
C.J. snorted. “That was a great Christmas. Dad got me a ... sorry Soviet Union?”  
“Now known as Russia and several Republics surrounding it. I can’t tell when you’re joking.”  
“Let’s agree on a signal.”  
“What?”  
“When I’m joking I'll tug at my collar and you’ll laugh. When I’m on the wrong track you can ... well I guess drop your head into your hands like you’re doing now.”  
“I have to leave.”  
“OK.”  
“OK.”  
“What’s next Carol?” C.J. called.

Even after such a short time in the White House C.J. turning up in the Deputy Security Advisor’s office after something has shaken her had become a regular occurrence. So Kate was not surprised after the lockdown when she found C.J. on her couch.  
“I need to get a longer couch I guess,” she commented, noticing C.J had to hang her feet over the arm.  
“I’m scared Kate.”  
“You have a right to be,” Kate said gently.  
“You aren’t.”  
“Sure I am.”  
“I can’t tell.”  
“Well, that’s my job.”  
“I need to stop feeling scared.”  
“You will.”  
“It sure doesn’t feel like it.”  
“Trust me, it’ll come. You guys have had a tough couple of years. I have no idea how any of you are still going about your business.”  
“Do you have time to sit with me for a bit or ...?”  
“Sure. I need to be somewhere soon. But until then I’m all yours.”  
C.J. lifted her feet and Kate slid onto the couch. They sat silently for a moment, taking each other in.  
“How do you get used to it? Living with threat all the time?” C.J. asked.  
Kate shrugged.  
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” C.J. asked uncertainly.  
“I guess?” Kate responded. “I mean we’ve really only just met.”  
“But we have something right?”  
“I think that’s fair to say,” Kate acknowledged after a moment, sounding surprised.  
“How do you get used to it?”  
“I don’t think that’s how it works. I was a military kid. Both sides of my family have been military as long as we’ve been in this country and that’s a ways’ back. Then I went to the Academy. Trained. Trained. Trained. This job is the safest I’ve felt on deployment for 10 years.”  
“You think of this as a deployment?”  
Kate nodded. “The action of bringing resources into effective action. I’m a resource.”  
“Have you ever had just a normal job?”  
“Ma’am no Ma’am.”  
“Huh. I guess you have to go?”  
“Not quite yet,” Kate said, finding one of C.J.’s hands and holding it.  
C.J. sighed, relaxing a little at the contact. “You should talk to Zoey.”  
“Dr McNally suggested it.”  
“And?”  
“We’ve had some eye contact. She knows.”  
“You are a woman of few words.”  
“Yeah well there’d be no room for them around here anyway.”  
“I really like you, Kate.”  
“OK.”  
“OK.”


End file.
